STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Joe Paterno pronounced Penn State's quarterback
derby a dead heat between <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=481926" target="_blank">Kevin
Newsome</a> (black) and Matt McGloin (White) before the Nittany Lions held their
Blue-White game on Saturday.
The coach may want to add a freshman
who turns 18 this spring to the race after this otherwise uninspiring
scrimmage.
Highly recruited Paul Jones (black), looking sharper than
sophomores Newsome or McGloin, stood out the most on the final day of
spring drills in Happy Valley.
Newsome and McGloin, who backed up two-year starter <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=185917" target="_blank">Daryll
Clark</a> last season, combined for an underwhelming 15-of-35 passing
for 160 yards and two interceptions, both by McGloin. Jones was 5 of 8
for 67 yards in more limited action, though the offense looked more
crisp when he was under center.
Jones connected with freshman <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=488964" target="_blank">Shawney
Kersey</a> for two scores, including a nice touch pass over a defender
in the end zone for an 18-yard TD in the fourth quarter.
This may
not be a two-man race after all, hinted Paterno's son and quarterbacks
coach, Jay Paterno.
"That may be true that that's an assumption on
people outside the program's part, but it's not the assumption on our
part," Jay Paterno said. "We're going play the guy who gives us the best
chance to win, no matter who it is."
At the same time, he warned
not to read too much into Saturday. It was just one glorified practice,
after all, played with a limited playbook in front of a national
television audience and 55,000 fans at Beaver Stadium.
"It's a
spring game ... there's not a whole lot of weight in that," Jay Paterno
said. "We kept it pretty vanilla."
The offense often appeared
about as plain as the Nittany Lions' simple blue-and-white uniforms when
Newsome and McGloin were behind center.
Each had some highlights
and both split time with the first-team offensive line, as they have all
spring. Joe Paterno, speaking before the scrimmage, said he wasn't
close to making a decision between Newsome or McGloin.
"I think
the two kids right now at the head of the pack are pretty even," he
said. "They're making progress, they're working at it. There's some
potential there. ... We'll see what happens."
Newsome, considered
more of a running quarterback like former Penn State QB Michael
Robinson, showed some touch and a strong arm on a few medium-range
passes but had more than his share of errant throws. He was 5 of 12 for
50 yards and was sacked three times, though he did show a knack for
scrambling out of trouble at times.
While Newsome might be the
front-runner by virtue of being the top backup last year, he said he's
not taking anything for granted.
"I would rate my performance as
'We got a lot of work to do,'" said Newsome, who gave few specifics
about where he wanted to improve beside being more consistent. "I
consider myself a player that has a lot of work to do."
McGloin, a
former walk-on, was 10 for 23 for 110 yards. While not as talented as
Newsome, McGloin appears to have a little more poise on the field.
"We're
settling in now. We got a long way to go," said McGloin, a third-year
sophomore. "I think [the offense] is starting to respect us more and
feel more comfortable."
Paterno rarely allows freshmen to talk to
the media -- let alone start at quarterback -- so Jones wasn't available
afterward. JoePa has hinted this spring that he's worried about giving
freshmen too much playing time early in the fall, especially with a
brutal road schedule that begins with a visit to national champion
Alabama in week 2.
"There's an awful lot, particularly [when]
we're in the process of ... trying to establish what to do with the two
kids ahead of him," Paterno said about Jones before the game. "Some
things he's good at, some things he's not good at, but he works hard."
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